The most common storage battery, found in almost every vehicle, is the lead-acid battery. This battery comprises a lead dioxide positive electrode, a lead metal negative electrode, and sulfuric acid for the electrolyte. Its chief advantage is low cost. Nevertheless, it has a limited energy density and the electrolyte is extremely corrosive. Furthermore, sufficient acid is required to react with the electrodes during discharge. Maintenance-free types avoid the loss of evolved gases, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,862,861, but their cycle-life is still restricted.
The search for alternatives to the lead-acid battery has been ongoing. As far back as 1934, Drumm disclosed the nickel-oxide zinc battery and the silver oxide-zinc battery (U.S. Pat. No. 1,955,115). Both of these batteries employ zinc as the negative electrode and caustic potash as the electrolyte. Nickel oxide or silver oxide serves as the positive electrode. These batteries have improved energy densities and for many uses are a good compromise.
The ideal storage battery would combine the best features of existing batteries with none of the drawbacks. The need for such a battery is apparent for backup systems and in mobile applications. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved storage battery, one that is both economical and highly efficient. These and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be recognized from the following description and accompanying figure.